Interview with Douglas (The_Holzwurm)

In this post we like to introduce our community member Douglas (the_holzwurm) from Texas. We have asked him a few questions about himself and his hobby. These where his answers!

Please introduce yourself to our readers: Where are you from? What do you do when you’re not in the workshop, and where can we find you on the web?

Hi, my name is Doug Vasalech,

I am currently from Texas but I was born in Bad Cannstadtt (Stuttgart). When I am not in my workshop, I am usually working in our yard, walking the dog in the park or just being lazy on the couch. I can be found on Instagram @theholzwurm or Facebook (I do not access this much as there is too much drama on it)

How old are you and for how long have you been practicing woodworking as a hobby?

I am 55 years old, I started buying tools in 2016 in anticipation of doing wood working as a hobby, I did not actually start to build things until early 2017.

How did you come to do woodworking and what’s your motivation to practice this hobby?

I retired on 14 December 2012 at age 52, I was a workaholic and my wife told me to get a hobby. I tried to get interested in N scale trains, but this was short lived. I decided I wanted to use my hands and therefore, I started to tinker with wood.

Why do you share your projects on the web?

I share my projects online to inspire others and a means to create a digital footprint for my children and grandchildren. They live in California! Instagram is a means to stay in contact besides using a telephone.

What photo/video equipment do you use and why? If you make videos, what’s your typical workflow for a video?

I currently use an Iphone 6 to take pictures most of the time, I do not have a YouTube channel at this time as I do not have the skills to produce videos.

Do you have a favorite tool? If so, what do you like about it?

This is a very hard question as I like all my tools! If I singled out one the others might get jealous, anyway I would say my German hand plane, I received it from my sister who lives in Berlin, Germany. This hand plane feels good in the hand and I was able to sharpen and set up the blade very easily.